


future politics

by kimaracretak



Category: Star Wars: Bloodline - Claudia Gray
Genre: F/F, Manipulation, Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:28:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27396478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimaracretak/pseuds/kimaracretak
Summary: Election night was waning rapidly towards morning, but Varish's party was still in full swing when the senator-elect from Arkanis made her way to Leia's side.
Relationships: Leia Organa/Carise Sindian
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4
Collections: Fic In A Box





	future politics

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moreless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moreless/gifts).



Election night was waning rapidly towards morning, but Varish's party was still in full swing when the senator-elect from Arkanis made her way to Leia's side. Her makeup was still flawless despite the hour, her eyes illuminated by a deep golden shadow and her lips a startlingly bright shade of mauve that had left an ostentatious stain on the rim of her glass. Leia caught her eye a moment too late to make a graceful exit, and cursed her self of five hours ago for agreeing to stay just a little longer.

She placed her own champagne down on the nearest serving droid's tray, and took a deep breath through her nose. Carise's election hardly counted as a surprise, given the way local elections had gone on Arkanis their previous year, but after spending that year ducking Carise's requests for Leia's support on the campaign trail, Leia had rather been looking forward to Carise disappearing into the sea of her fellow, largely-undifferentiated senators.

"Senator," Leia said, and hoped Carise noticed that her smile was obviously fake. "Congratulations are due, I presume."

Carise's own smile was blindingly real. "Please, Princess, no need for titles. We know who we are, do we not?" She reached for Leia's hand without waiting for a response.

Leia's lips thinned as she shook Carise's hand. "A dangerous presumption to make in the Senate," she said, but Carise just laughed, throwing her head back in exaggerated amusement. It was the sort of laugh that could do dangerous things, if she ever learned how to deploy it with any subtlety, Leia thought, and tried to ignore the way the lights sparkled across Carise's dress, fell over her lips that were parted in a deliberately coy invitation.

Carise was a Senator, she was already dangerous. Leia just hadn't figured out how yet.

"Shouldn't you be on Arkanis?" She asked, taking a step back to lean her hip against the bar. If the position spread her legs in a way that was just brushing the edges of propriety - if it turned the space between them into something that could be interpreted as an invitation, should a certain party choose to do so - well, she just wanted to see how sharp Carise's edges already were.

"I'll return tomorrow for the formal announcement," Carise said. She didn't step forward, though Leia watched the way her gaze lingered on Leia's lips, and that was an answer too. "It's important I be seen in the Core. Working for my people, cultivating alliances ..."

She trailed off, dragging her finger around the rim of her glass. The crystal chimed at her touch, a soft, discordant note amongst the revelry around them. The innuendo in her tone was impossible to miss.

"Yes," Leia said dryly, noting the spots of colour high on Carise's cheekbones, visible through her suddenly much less flawless makeup. "Alliances."

Come closer, she thought, come closer, if you dare.

Carise's skin was thrumming with energy, with heat, far too vivid for the distance between them, for the strapless, shimmering waves of silk that made up her gown. And yet despite the crowd, Leia's senses were filled with her, the sharp wood and vanilla of her perfume, the warm brown of her eyes.

 _Come closer_ , Leia thought, and Carise did. Two quick steps, just enough to bring her between Leia's legs but not quite enough for them to touch. 

"Yes," Carise echoed, her voice pitched just higher than normal, her eyes darting everywhere but Leia's own. Even so, it wasn't enough to conceal the hint of her confusion, so bright that Leia could practically taste it. "Alliances."

"They're tricky things," Leia said, light and casual as she lifted another glass from a passing droid. "Oftentimes the ones you plan when you come into the Senate don't survive the first day or two of your term. And sometimes the ones you think you'll have to spend much time and effort courting simply ... fall into your lap."

She dropped her gaze to Carise's waist, where pale gold chains dangled with the Sindian family crest and the Arkanis planetary seal. She knew without seeing that Carise's blush had deepened.

She shouldn't be playing games like this - not so late in the night, not in such a public setting. The room was full of Senators and other high-ranking officials, and while Varish's parties were firmly closed to the press, Leia knew better than to think that anyone's lips would remain so firmly closed for long.

But something about Carise made her want to push back, in a way that few other Senators provoked in her. She wanted to bite down, pick her apart with all the restless energy that was sharpening into want deep in the pit of her stomach, and it was unsettling.

It was exhilarating.

"Are you offering me a courtship, Princess Leia?" Carise asked. Her confusion was fading, lips curling in a disquieting smile. "I wouldn't have expected it from someone of your -"

"Oh, I would think carefully about how you want to finish that sentence," Leia murmured. She took a long sip of her drink, something blue and tart that she couldn't name. She didn't quite mean it to be a command, but Carise's mouth snapped shut anyway. The energy between them was gathering, heavy enough that Leia felt sure she could take it in hand as easily as she had taken Carise's hand mere minutes ago. "Better," Leia breathed, and Carise, too, breathed out in a sigh.

"As you say," Carise replied. "It does seem that the Senate is a place for more ... carefully guarded words than the campaign trail."

Leia's smile was real when she said, "You'll learn. I, for one, am looking forward to watching you."

It was as if the words had broken some of the tension, though Leia couldn't say precisely why. Carise stepped back, and Leia saw, then, the tall golden figure of Varish sweeping her way across the room towards them. Perhaps it had been that - perhaps, Leia thought, she hadn't quite wanted to let Carise go.

Carise cleared her throat. "Think about what I said," she said, a hint of her old arrogance creeping back into her tone as she turned without even a proper farewell, nearly bumping into Varish as she went.

Leia watched her go, wondering what Carise's next move would be. What she herself might do - might have done, if Varish hadn't arrived.

She wasn't, suddenly, sure at all that she looked forward to it. 


End file.
